return materials here
by sheriffandsteel
Summary: Modern AU Theon was rarely rejected so it was fair to say he didn't handle rejection well. He was used to his casual flings and one night stands so why couldn't he get this new girl out of his head? Not only was she immune to his charms she made him feel all kinds of fuzzy. He was pretty sure Sansa Stark was kryptonite in human form.


Theon had never really liked libraries. He loved to read he just hated having to be quiet, plus the librarians at Winterfell Public Library always seemed to be judging the books he borrowed.

He thought that nothing would be able to break his dislike until he walked up to the return desk late one night to find a new pretty redhead sitting there and glaring at her computer screen.

"I need to return this." Theon said grinning at her as he leaned against the desk and passed her the copy of _The Goldfinch_ that Yara had insisted he read before she would agree to let him go see the movie without yelling at him. He hoped that the pretty librarian would be impressed by the size of the book he was reading. It wasn't the only size he was hoping to impress her with.

To his chagrin she didn't even look up at him as she scanned the book in and glanced at the computer when it pinged at her.

"This is late. There's a twenty-cent fee." only now did she look over at him and Theon put on his most charming smile as he leaned closer to her over the counter.

"It's just a day late." he whispered conspiratorially even though there was no one else around them, the library was about to close for the night. He had never paid a library fee in his life. He constantly forgot the due dates on his books but the librarians all knew him here and despite their snappy tones and constant shushes that he was being too loud they had a bit of a soft spot for him. He was always able to charm his way out of anything. It helped that he was starting forward on the university's hockey team and had led his team to several victories. This new librarian must not know who he was.

"Yes, that's why the fee is twenty-cents." the woman repeated as she looked up at him with raised brows.

Theon gave her his infallible puppy eyes as he glanced at the nametag on her sweater. "Come on Sansa, it's just twenty-cents."

Sansa rose her brows at him and leaned slightly forward like she was going to tell him a secret. Theon tried to hide his smirk as he leaned closer. He knew she'd be unable to resist his infamous Greyjoy charms. "Then it shouldn't be a problem for you to pay it."

Theon rose from the counter slowly, looking down at her with shock. He couldn't remember the last time someone had resisted him and he found himself surprisingly turned on. He was tempted to keep pushing her to see if it was possible to charm her into waiving the fine but it was only twenty-cents and he had other things he'd like to charm her into doing.

He placed the coins on the counter and pushed them towards her slowly before smiling at her wolfishly. "What do you say we get a drink tonight?"

"Can't." Sansa said with a shrug as she took the coins off the counter and went back to typing.

Theon blinked at her in surprise, he'd never been turned down with a one word response before. He would remember because he so rarely got turned down.

"Do you have plans?" he found himself asking, he was still pretty confident he could charm her into rescheduling or at least squeezing him in for one drink.

"No, I just don't want too." again Sansa did not look up at him as she said this which was good because Theon knew that his shock was written clearly across his face.

As Theon left the library bookless and with two less coins in his pocket, he couldn't resist sending a glance at the new librarian in the reflection of the glass doors. With it being dark outside they were like mirrors and Theon smiled when he realized that Sansa was watching him walk away. It looked like that wasn't as much of a dead end as he'd thought. He might have a chance there after all and gods knew he loved a challenge.

The doors had barely shut behind him before Theon was pulling out his phone, years of practice making it easy to type while he walked over to his car.

**Theon:** You're charmless, how'd you get Ygritte to date you?

**Jon:** Fuck you.

Theon huffed good naturedly as he climbed into his car, he hadn't really been expecting any other response from his teammate but he'd figured it was worth a try. Plus, whenever Theon saw the chance to take a shot at Jon, he took it. The entire eight minute drive back to the house he shared with four other members of the hockey team he spent unable to shake the pretty redhead from his thoughts.

This was going to be a problem.

Theon pulled out his phone again once he'd retreated to the safety of his room. Since his charm had failed him for once he was going to have to step up his game for this new librarian.

**Theon:** How'd you get Dany to date you?

**Yara:** My endless Greyjoy charm obviously.

**Theon:** Has that ever...failed you?

**Yara:** Of course not.

Why?

Did you get turned down?

Did it shatter your ego?

**Theon:** Shut up I'm trying to ask for advice here.

**Yara:** Here's my advice: forget about her and move one. There's plenty of fish in the sea.

Oh but I forgot, you're too far from the sea to catch any fish.

**Theon:** You're the worst big sister I've ever had. I don't know why I even bother with you.

**Yara:** I'm the ONLY big sister you've ever had which means I'm also the BEST.

**Theon:** Further proof that you are th T.

So Yara wasn't going to be any help at all. With a groan Theon turned his phone on silent and tossed it across the room. They had practice at 5am so he might as well go to sleep now. Maybe that would shake the redhead from his mind.

XxX

It did not. In fact, he dreamed of her, and in his dreams the brutality of her rejection was ten times worse. Theon woke feeling strange and out of sorts and judging by how much Coach Seaworth singled him out at practice, it showed.

By the time he made it to his first class of the day it was relief just to have something else to focus on. It was hard to think about pretty red hair and rejections when focusing on differential equations. The girls a few rows in front of him who kept looking back to check him out and giggle helped too.

When he arrived early to his next class Theon almost felt like himself again and he pulled out his phone to scroll Instagram until the professor arrived.

He stopped at a picture Robb had posted that morning of him and Margaery with her asleep on his shoulder and was about to post a remark about keeping their PDA offline since he dealt with it enough in real life when another comment on the post caught his eye.

**sansastark:** You two are so cute.

Theon's finger hovered over her screenname, certain that it had to be a coincidence before his curiosity got the better of him and he clicked on her profile. To his disappointment it was set to private so all he could see was her caption (_Life is not a song_) and her profile picture. The person in the photo was slightly out of frame and had their back to the camera but Theon had seen that telling red hair in his mind for the last fourteen hours, he'd have recognized it anywhere.

He quickly excited the app, not trusting himself to not do something foolish like sending her a follow request which he knew would be monumentally creepy after their meeting last night. He couldn't believe he hadn't put two and two together the night before and realized that she had to be Robb's little sister. He'd heard him talk about Sansa in the three years they had played together and it wasn't like it was that common of a name. Robb didn't talk about her as much as he did his other siblings, apparently she'd lived down south for a few years now. Theon wasn't sure if Robb had told him or not when that had changed. He didn't always listen when people talked, a fact that had gotten him into quite a lot of trouble in the past.

Some of the tension in Theon's chest unraveled as he realized that this must have been why Sansa turned him down last night. He might not have realized who she was but surely she had realized who he was. She must have realized that he played on the same team as her brother, of course she wouldn't have wanted to get a drink with him. She didn't want to make it awkward for anyone. Theon could understand that but it didn't stop him from wanting to get a drink with her, in fact it kind of made him want to ask her out more.

He was going to have to talk to Robb, certainly he would see that Theon was worthy of taking his sister on a date.

At least now he knew his Greyjoy charm hadn't failed him at all.

He still had it. To prove it, he winked at the teacher's assistant that had just come in and didn't bother to hide his smirk as she blushed and nearly dropped the pile of books in her arms.

XxX

He didn't get a moment alone with Robb until the next day when they were in the weight room, doing strength training before they went onto the ice later that afternoon.

"How's your sister doing?" Theon asked as he did bicep curls beside Robb who kept grabbing one weight higher than Theon on everything they did. Theon let him, even though they both knew he was the stronger of the two.

"Arya?" Robb asked curiously. Theon noticed their new transfer defensive player shift uneasily behind Robb and Theon felt a pang of sympathy. He must have been on the receiving end of one of Arya's death threats. Theon would never understand how someone so small could be so terrifying.

"No, the other one." Theon said casually, figuring there was no point in letting Robb know he knew her name.

"Sansa? She's alright." Robb said.

Theon fought the urge to roll his eyes. Usually Robb was a talker, why was he being so aloof right now? Couldn't he see this was important? "She still live down south?"

Robb hesitated a moment before shaking his head. "No, she moved home a few weeks ago."

"Why's that?" Theon asked nonchalantly, meeting Robb's eyes defiantly as he turned to look at him suspiciously.

"Why are you so interested all of a sudden?" Robb asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Just making conversation." Theon set the weights down and moved to get a heavier pair. Robb quickly switched his as well.

"Bad breakup." Robb admitted after a moment, his voice pitched low so only Theon could hear him in the crowded room even though the only one close enough to hear him was Waters, who was a bit of a loner and never seemed to give a shit what the rest of the team was up to.

Theon felt something settle in his gut and it took him a long moment to realize that it was guilt. It was making even more sense now that Sansa had turned him down and as Theon left the gym that morning he realized he felt a little bit like a dick for asking her out. It wasn't like he could have known she'd just been through a break-up just by looking at her but Theon had a rule about not hitting on emotionally vulnerable women. He didn't want to cause them any more upset when there were so many other options out there for him.

So, as attractive as Theon found Sansa he knew that he would not be asking her out again anytime soon. More than that, he didn't want her to feel weird being around him. She was related to two of the members on his team who were also his roommates, they'd be seeing each other around. The last thing Theon wanted to do was make her feel awkward. He cursed silently to himself as he realized what he would have to do, and the fact that as of that moment Sansa Stark was off limits.

XxX

His classes were all morning classes that semester so after their afternoon practice Theon had the rest of the night free. He headed over to the public library, which he preferred over the one on campus because the girls on campus tended to giggle and follow him around the stacks and it made it really hard for him to get any work done when he knew he could be making out with one of them between the shelves, which he still did fairly often.

Today he had another reason for going to this library and he felt a brief flash of worry when he noticed an older familiar librarian at the return desk. Theon considered asking her if Sansa was working that day before deciding that was too creepy and instead headed up to the second floor where the novels were kept. As long as he was there, he might as well get something new to read.

To his surprise as he headed down one of the rows, he caught a flash of familiar red hair and he stopped in his tracks before turning back down the aisle. Sansa was there, with the return cart full of books and studying the one she had in her hands before placing it back on its proper place on the shelf.

"Hey." Theon said quietly, hating the way his voice still seemed to echo in the vast space.

Sansa flinched before turning to look at him and unless Theon was imagining it, she shifted slightly so that the cart was positioned in between them.

"We got off on the wrong foot." Theon said shifting awkwardly on his feet. This was harder than he had anticipated. "I'm Theon, I'm on the hockey team with Robb and Jon." he resisted the urge to smile at her and say that she already knew that of course. He was still pretty sure that had to be the reason she turned him down, or maybe it was too soon after the break up. Theon never dated anyone except casually so he had never been through a break up before. He didn't know how long it took one to get over it.

"I won't say anything to them about you asking me out." Sansa said with a shrug before turning back to the book in her hands.

"What?" Theon asked, his nose wrinkled in confusion. She'd turned him down so what did it matter if they knew? Other than the fact that they would tease him mercilessly forever about being rejected.

Sansa looked back over at him with her brows raised. "Isn't that why you're here?"

"No." Theon shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets as he tried to hide the fact that his next words left a sour taste on his tongue, he hated having to say sorry. "I just wanted to apologize in case I made you uncomfortable and introduce myself properly since we'll probably see each other around." He'd also wanted to test the waters and ask her if she'd known who he was and if that was why she'd rejected him but he didn't think that was something he should bring up right now.

"Oh." Sansa said in surprise, her fingers lessening their tight grip on the book in her hands. "Thanks."

Theon wanted to ask her if she was planning to come to their first game next weekend but he didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already seemed to be. Still there was one thing he wanted to ask while he had her there.

"One more thing." Theon tried to pretend he didn't notice the way she immediately tensed up. "Have you read _Daisy Jones and the Six_? I want to read it but I'm just not sure if it'll live up to the hype."

XxX

For the next few weeks Theon managed to shake Sansa from his thoughts, a little more with passing day. He was grateful to find himself thinking of her less and less, he couldn't remember the last time a person had this kind of effect on him and to say he didn't like it was putting it lightly. He tried to chase the thoughts away faster by hooking up with a few different girls he met on campus but even that only helped for a few hours at time. The moment he left them his thoughts were right back on red hair.

He_ hated_ it. He hated it even more because he didn't hate it as much as he wanted to.

Their first game of the season Theon couldn't help himself from scanning the crowd for her as they did their warm ups. He wasn't sure why catching sight of Sansa's increasingly familiar face in the stands made his chest all warm but as long as it didn't affect his playing he didn't care.

If anything, it only made his playing better, somehow knowing that she was there watching made him want to be even better than people said. Even though he couldn't date her, Theon wanted to leave an impression on her and if this was the way to do it so be it.

They won, smashing Mount Cailin in a shutout. They were better this season than they had been the last few years and Theon had a feeling they would make it all the way to the national championships if they kept this up. After showering Theon was tempted to head over to the Starks with Jon and Robb just to have an excuse to talk to Sansa again, but she was standing sandwiched between Bran whose unnerving gaze freaked him out and Arya who just plain terrified him. Theon settled himself for nodding at her and the knowledge that he'd see her at the library soon enough.

In the meantime, he needed to find a distraction.

XxX

Classes got harder and more time-consuming as the semester wore on. Theon found himself having less time to read books just because he wanted too and as such his trips to the library became less frequent. He told himself this was for the best; he could think of no better way to finally get Sansa from his brain than less exposure to her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a crush; he had forgotten how they could consume your soul in such a way.

Practices only got more grueling as they got further into the season and Theon tried to tell himself not to look for a flash of red hair every game but he was never able to stop himself. She'd been there for all three of their home games so far and Theon hadn't worked up the nerve to talk to her at a single one of them.

Not only was she making him worry his charm was broken but she was turning him into a simpering mess.

This would not stand.

Late one night he finally had enough free time and energy to return the library books that had been sitting in his car all weekend. He knew that he could have put them through the drop slot in the door but then he wouldn't have had an excuse to see her again.

An excuse that he hated feeling like he had to have.

Where was the Theon Greyjoy who could find a reason to talk to any woman anywhere anytime? Where was the Theon Greyjoy who had charmed himself into not one, not two, but four separate threesomes? Where was he because this Theon's charm and lackluster love life were starting to get to him.

What the hell had Sansa Stark managed to do to him?

Theon managed to slip into the library with eight minutes before they closed and he let out a breath of relief as he approached the return desk. Sansa looked up at the sound and was it his imagination or did she just smile at him? A small smile, to be sure, but a smile nonetheless.

"Just here to return these." Theon flashed a grin at her as he passed her the three books in his hands. He waited for her to comment on the fact that one of them was a book she had recommended one of the few times they'd actually had a conversation but she didn't. She just scanned them in and glanced at the computer when it pinged.

"These are late. It's a two-forty fine." Sansa looked up at him expectantly and Theon grinned and leaned on the counter.

Time to test that Greyjoy charm again.

"That's a bit more than last time." he whispered conspiratorially, trying not to gasp in surprise when Sansa leaned slightly forward like she was going to tell him a secret. He knew she couldn't resist him for long, she was going to waive the fine and then he would ask her for drinks and-

"They're a bit later than last time." Sansa whispered back halting Theon's thoughts in their tracks.

He huffed out a shock laugh as he tilted his head to peer at her curiously. Twice? She had resisted him twice? Was Sansa Stark his kryptonite or something?

"You're a hardass Stark." Theon grumbled good naturedly as he grabbed his wallet and offered her the fine amount. Sansa took it with a small grin that was doing weird things to Theon's heart.

"You coming to our game Saturday?" he found himself asking, shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat so she didn't see how they were shaking. It was cold in there tonight.

"Been to all the others, haven't I?" Sansa asked as she put his money in the till, looking up at him with raised brows.

"Dunno, I haven't noticed you." Theon said immediately, it was a move that had worked for him countless times before. Pretend you don't notice the object of your affection and they end up wanting you even more.

He kept forgetting Sansa Stark was unlike any woman he had ever met.

"Yes, you have." Sansa said with the same small secret smile that was making Theon's chest go haywire.

"Yes, I have." Theon forced himself to admit sheepishly. He needed to get out of there before that smile tricked him into asking her out again. Theon forced himself to walk away backwards, sending her one last grin before he turned around. "Guess I'll see you at this one too."

XxX

The weeks fell into a familiar pattern of class, practice and games where he told himself not to look for Sansa and he failed every single time. This crush was getting annoying. Theon was beginning to think it wasn't so much a crush after all, but really just fascination that one woman could be so immune to him.

He was beginning to talk to her a bit more at the library which was both a good thing and a bad. Good, because she always recommended books that he ended up liking and bad because he had almost managed to convince himself that his crush was hopeless until that had started.

Now she was in his head even more and he had no idea what to do about it. He didn't want to ask her out and get rejected again, he wasn't sure if he could handle the shame of being turned down twice by the same person. At the same time, he didn't want to wait around and hang onto a crush that was going to go nowhere.

How did people live like this?

Theon rested his head against the cool window of the bus as he tried hard to ignore the chatter around him, his nose buried in the latest novel Sansa had recommended to him. They were on their way to a game just on the outskirts of their flying boundaries and they had already been on the bus for four hours and had another three to go.

Theon should have brought two books with him.

"You are such a nerd Greyjoy." Robb said fondly from across the aisle from him. Theon didn't even look up as he flipped him off.

XxX

They'd won the game and after an increasingly long bus ride home Theon only managed to sleep for a handful of hours before he woke up feeling way to wound up to try to keep sleeping never mind the fact that this was way earlier than he usually got up on the weekends.

He had finished the book on the bus the night before and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to talk about it with someone, and who better than the person who recommended it to him?

There was a light snow falling as he made his way to the library and Theon wondered if Sansa was going to be impressed that not only had he read the book so fast but he remembered to turn it in before he got a fine. He was trying to convince himself he didn't want to impress Sansa, that he just wanted to be her friend, when he walked into the library and felt his stomach drop in disappointment as he realized Sansa wasn't at the return desk.

With a sigh he dropped the book off to the librarian who smiled at him, which he had to force himself to return. He debated asking if Sansa was working that day before he decided that would be weird and he shook his head at himself as he turned to leave the building. He was so lost in his thoughts that when a door opened in the hallway, he nearly ran straight into the person who stepped out of it.

"Oh!" Sansa said in surprise, dropping the gray scarf she'd been clutching in her hands. "Sorry I didn't see you there."

"No worries." Theon said bending to scoop up her scarf and have a moment to get his goofy grin at seeing her out of his system. "I was hoping to run into you."

He cursed at himself silently, really he couldn't have found a less eager way to say that?

"What for?" Sansa asked curiously as she wound the scarf around her neck.

"I finished the book you recommended-"

"Already?" Sansa asked and unless Theon was mistaken she sounded slightly impressed. "And you were turning it in before it was due?"

Theon rolled his eyes. "It was bound to happen at some point."

Sansa bit her lip as she toyed with the ends of her scarf and Theon was so focused at looking at her mouth he almost missed her words. "I was about to get a cup of coffee, want to join me? We can chat about the book?"

Was that a date? Did Sansa just ask him on a date? Theon shook the thought from his head, friends got coffee all the time. Besides, they were talking about a book. It was like they were their own mini book club.

"Lead the way." he said gesturing to the doors and forcing himself not to check her out as she walked a head of him.

XxX

The coffee shop was just down the street but the snow was falling thicker now and Theon had to resist reaching over to brush flakes of it out of Sansa's hair as they stepped inside.

Theon was debating if he should offer to pay for her coffee or not but before he could work up the nerve she had already paid and he cursed to himself as he ordered his drink before following Sansa to a table over by the window.

"So, did you like the book?" Sansa asked curiously as she wrapped her hands around her mug.

"It was great. Didn't see the ending coming." Theon said, trying to ignore the way her cheeks were still flushed from the cold outside. Oh, how he wanted to make her flushed for other reasons.

"Me neither!" Sansa sounded more animated than Theon had ever seen and he couldn't help but smile at her eagerness. "It's my favorite out of all their books."

"I haven't read any of their other stuff." Theon admitted as he took a small sip of coffee.

"I shouldn't have started you with the best one then." Sansa said with a laugh. "Now the others aren't going to seem as good as they really are."

"I think I can manage." Theon grinned at her, his heart diving painfully into his stomach as she smiled back.

He wasn't sure how long they sat in the window talking but at some point the conversation shifted from books to school and Sansa told him she would be starting school as a transfer student come January. Theon tried to hide his happy smile at the thought of seeing her around campus with his coffee mug but he wasn't sure how successful he was. He resisted the urge to ask why she had left King's Landing in such a hurry and took a semester off but he told himself she would have told him that if she wanted to. It was none of his business. Besides it didn't change anything, she was here now.

"I think I will keep working at the library." Sansa mused thoughtfully, playing with her long empty mug. Theon had offered to buy her a refill but she declined, saying one cup of coffee was enough for her. He ignored his disappointment that they wouldn't be here longer. "I just like working there too much to leave."

"Even with those stuffy librarians as your coworkers?" Theon joked causing Sansa to look over at him in surprise before seeing his smile which she smirked at.

"You should hear what they say about you." she said conspiratorially causing Theon to look at her in shock.

"They talk about me?" he should have known. He needed to charm them even more if it got them to bring him up to Sansa. "Good things only right?"

Sansa bit her lip and shrugged again and Theon groaned, not at her lack of response but at the thoughts her biting her lip gave him.

He was _this close_ to telling her the effect she had on him when her phone suddenly beeped and she looked down at it curiously.

"It's Robb." Sansa said softly, looking up at him. Theon felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him at the name. He hadn't wanted another reminder of why he shouldn't go for this. "I have to head home." she said apologetically.

"Of course." Theon said raising to his feet with her. He wanted to ask for her phone number but the mention of Robb's name had reminded him of why he shouldn't. He would have to content himself with this for now. "I had a great time getting to know you Sansa."

"Me too...Theon." Sansa said shyly

Theon walked her to her car and tried to calm his racing heart at the sound of his name in her mouth.

XxX

He wasn't sure how he managed to make it through finals but he did. Practices were only getting longer and more grueling as they entered playoff season. He left to Essos for a week of winter break to see Yara and felt like he was melting the entire time he was there. It was a relief to return to Winterfell and get back on the ice.

Even when the new semester started practices didn't let up and it was hard for Theon to find time to do anything outside of practice and class. What little free time he did have he preferred to spend sleeping. As such, his reading fell to the wayside and he hadn't been able to go to the library once since classes started which meant he hadn't seen Sansa in weeks. While normally that distance would have been enough to erase any affection he felt for someone with Sansa it had only made it stronger.

He had an hour to kill in between classes one day which was just enough time to work on some homework but not enough time to go home for a nap. Theon walked the second floor of the student union looking for a place to sit but the snow outside had made the place packed, no one wanted to leave campus until they were done for the day. Theon was about to give up and sit on the floor when he noticed a flash of red hair in the corner and he headed over to the table slowly.

"Care if I join you?" Theon asked nervously, trying to ignore the fact this was the first time he had seen Sansa since their coffee not date. She seemed to have gotten even prettier since then, but maybe that was just the lighting.

She looked up from her book curiously and Theon gulped at the way her face easily slipped into a smile at the sight of him. He had made her smile.

"Of course." she said brightly, pulling her books closer to her across the table to give Theon more room.

"Thanks." he let out a relieved sigh as he sank into the chair across from her. His body was too sore to handle sitting on the floor. He knew he should let her get back to studying but he couldn't resist asking, "How are you liking it here?"

"I love it." Sansa admitted, before shaking her head at herself. "I don't know why I didn't just come here first like the rest of my family."

"You wanted to see the world?" Theon offered curiously as he pulled his statistics book out of his bag.

"I guess." Sansa said with a sigh that brightened quickly. She seemed so much happier than when Theon first met her all those months ago. Watching her smile was intoxicating.

"I heard you guys are in the playoffs. Congratulations."

They both got very little studying done that first day, both too lost in their conversation. It became a routine for them and three days a week between his classes Theon found Sansa at that same table and sat down across for her, soon having stopped asking her to join her.

The time he spent with her was quickly becoming the best part of his week as the team made it into semi-finals and Davos was working them so hard Theon suspected they all might die before they even made it to the championship game.

Every other game was a home game and Theon no longer tried to pretend that he wasn't looking for Sansa in the crowd. Every time he saw her, he felt his chest get warmer, even though he had been pretty sure she would be there. Expecting it and knowing it were different things to him.

During this time Sansa followed him on Instagram and Theon took that as a sign it was okay to send her a follow request. He nearly passed out he was so excited when she accepted it. As much as he tried to stop himself from stalking her posts it did not work and he spent nearly an hour looking at every photo on her profile.

The only thing that diminished his excitement over this step they had taken was Robb.

**Robb:** I didn't know you knew Sansa.

**Theon:** We met at the library.

He didn't bring it up again but Theon caught Robb side eying him more than once at practice for the next week.

The team won against Dorne which meant that they were officially going to play King's Landing in the final match of the season. They won the coin toss meaning that they would be the housing school and as they flew back to Winterfell from Dorne it was all the team could talk about. In two weeks time, they would face off their fiercest rival in the league and one would walk away champions. They were all determined for it to be them.

His teammates decided to throw a huge party when they got back to Winterfell and Robb drew the short straw meaning it was to be hosted at their house. Theon tried to hide his annoyance at this, he hated having to clean up his teammates' messes.

The moment the party started Theon could feel his annoyance only grow. The door seemed to open endlessly and there were people on every surface. Theon had locked the door to his room as a precaution he was suddenly grateful for when he saw couples start slipping upstairs. He was not about to deal with people having sex in his room unless he was involved.

A sudden hand on his arm caused him to look down and he frowned at the pretty but unfamiliar girl pressing herself against him. "Wanna get out of here for a while?" she asked, standing on her toes to shout in his ear.

Theon's brows rose as he realized he wasn't even a little bit tempted to take her up on the offer. With a start he realized he hadn't been with anyone, or really even wanted too, since he had met for coffee with Sansa last semester.

"Not tonight love." Theon said, gently prying her fingers off his arm and ignoring her look of disappointment. "He might be interested though." he said pointing her in the direction of Waters who was playing beer pong with Arya. Maybe if Waters got laid he would stop looking so damn grumpy all the time.

Theon was wondering if leaving a party at his own house would be considered rude when he felt a hand on his arms again. He sighed as he turned around, he used to love this part about parties but tonight he wasn't even a little bit interested.

His brows rose in surprise as he realized it was Sansa with her hand on his arm and she smiled at him as she dropped her hand back to her side. He had never seen her at one of their parties before and he suddenly realized that despite her brother and cousin being his roommates he had never seen her at their house before either.

"What are you doing here?" he found himself asking stupidly, the shock registering him mostly incoherent.

Thankfully Sansa laughed instead of being offended. "Honestly, thinking about leaving." she admitted, leaning closer so he could hear her over the music.

Theon caught scent of rosewater perfume and forced himself not to breath in too deeply. "Funny, I was doing the same thing." he admitted.

"Don't you live here?" she asked softly laughing when Theon shrugged.

"Keeping tabs on me Stark?" Theon couldn't help himself from asking and either it was his imagination or the really poor lighting or she just blushed. "Doesn't mean I want to be around for this." he gestured to the party around them. Most of the room was sloppy drunk already but Theon had only one beer. He wanted to be sober in case anyone tried to break anything.

Sansa bit her lip and cast her eyes around the room and Theon could feel his heartbeat speeding up as her eyes found his again. "Do you want to get out of here for a bit? Get some fresh air?"

"Absolutely." Theon couldn't hide the smile he got from her words and he pushed through the crowd after her to the front door. He considered putting a hand on her back as they walked but he had nearly passed out when he realized she'd touched his arm, he didn't think he would be able to handle touching her and not keeling over.

The air was frigid and Theon shivered as it hit him, realizing belatedly he hadn't grabbed a coat on his way out the door. Sansa didn't have hers on either, she must have left it inside. Theon wished he had a coat just so he could offer it to her.

Sansa sat gingerly on the front step of the stoop, it was clear of snow but Theon knew it couldn't be very warm and he shivered hard as he sat down beside her. Sansa scooted closer to him on the step and Theon resisted the urge to put his arm around her. Just for body heat of course.

"I've never seen you at one of these before." Theon remarked, proud of the fact that his teeth weren't chattering as he spoke.

"That's because I haven't been to one." Sansa admitted, turning to look at him with a small smile. Her skin shone in the moonlight and Theon didn't think that he had ever seen something so earth shatteringly beautiful before.

"Why'd you come to this one?" Theon asked curiously, scooting slightly closer to her. The warmth radiating off her body was too intoxicating not to try to reach for it. Seven Hells it was freezing out there.

Sansa paused and turned back to face the street and even just seeing her profile Theon could see her thoughts written across her face. "I realized I can't be afraid forever."

"What are you afraid of?" Theon couldn't help but ask, he hated the thought that someone so sweet would be afraid of anything.

Sansa let out a humorless laugh as she shook her head, her red hair spilling over one shoulder with the motion. "So many things."

"I'm afraid I'm a disappointment." Theon flinched as soon as the words left his mouth. He had not meant to say that, at all. Sure, it was a real fear but it was one he had never planned on sharing with anyone, ever. It was a pretty well-founded fear too considering the only person who talked to him in his family was Yara. His father had written him off years ago and Theon had never managed to get back into his good graces, after a while he'd simply stopped trying. They hadn't spoken in two years.

He held his breath waiting for Sansa to poke fun at him or simply get up and leave because_ yikes_. What the hell did he think he was doing saying something so serious to her? They were not serious level friends. He didn't know how she always managed to break down his defenses but she'd gone and done it again. Theon cast his mind for something to break the silence, literally anything else, when Sansa did it for him.

"I'm afraid all love ever does is hurt you." Her voice was so soft Theon had to strain to hear her but he felt his heart clench at the words. The fact that someone had hurt her so deeply made him want to thrash whoever had done it.

"It doesn't." Theon reassured her, reaching forward to place his hand on hers where it rested in her lap. Her fingers were like ice against his skin but he still felt a flash of heat just from touching her. "The real kind doesn't."

"How do you know when it's the real kind?" Sansa asked, looking up from their clasped hands to look at Theon again. He swallowed hard as her eyes met his.

"I haven't figured that part out yet." He admitted slowly.

"Well, let me know when you do." Sansa sighed, tucking her head against his shoulder. Theon held his breath as he let go of her hand to wind an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer against his side.

He wasn't sure how long they sat in silence, watching the empty street as the snow fell, but when Edd opened the door to find them outside he berated them endlessly and Theon could no longer feel his fingers or toes. His chest though felt curiously warm.

XxX

"If I had balls they'd be frozen off by now." Yara complained as she tucked her neck further into her scarf like she could burrow deeper into her jacket to escape the cold.

"You look like a turtle." Theon laughed, resisting the urge to shove a chunk of snow down her back.

"A cute turtle." Daenerys interjected, standing on her toes to plant a kiss on Yara's cheek. One of the first things Yara had said when Theon picked them up from the airport was for Daenerys not to kiss her outside, she didn't want their mouths to get frozen together. Theon thought about telling her that wasn't how that worked but decided against it if he meant he didn't have to watch them make-out all weekend.

"Remind me why the hell we came here again?" Yara grumbled as she followed Theon up the steps to the house.

"Because your brother is playing a national championship game and you're here to support him like the great sister you are." Daenerys reminded her, pushing lightly at her back to get her to speed up. For someone so cold she sure was walking slow.

"Oh, I thought it was because you wanted to see Winterfell." Yara said giving her a cheeky grin as they stepped inside the house and she let out a relieved sigh as its warmth engulfed her.

"Oi!" Theon cried, turning to cast a fake glare at Daenerys who feigned innocence. "And here I thought you'd grown to love me."

"Well you are an acquired taste." Daenerys said, stepping backwards as Yara shook the snow off of her like a wet dog.

"That's what I keep telling him." Jon suddenly shouted from the other room.

"Fuck off Snow!" Theon yelled as Yara and Daenerys laughed. Maybe he wasn't as excited to have them visiting as he thought he'd been.

XxX

He didn't see much of Yara and Daenerys for the next few days as practice went into overdrive. They didn't seem to mind very much and Yara took Daenerys to all the sights she'd wanted to see. Theon had even asked Sansa for some suggestions to send them to since she was a native of Winterfell after all and Daenerys had been ecstatic over them since they hadn't been in any of the travel sites she'd been reading.

The day before the game Coach Seaworth ended practice after only two hours of drills and laps. He wanted them to rest and not strain themselves so they'd be ready to play tomorrow.

Theon suddenly found himself with a free afternoon so he tagged with Yara and Daenerys on their tourist excursion, this time to tour the ancient castle that sat on the outskirts of the city. It was in surprisingly good upkeep except for one broken tower.

Daenerys was intently reading a plaque about one of the tapestries and Theon was curiously looking at a painting of huge wolves running when Yara slipped up beside him like a ghost.

"So, when do I get to meet her?" Yara asked curiously, he could feel her staring at him from the corner of her eye even though she didn't look away from the painting.

"Meet who?" Theon asked in confusion.

Yara shrugged, "The girl whose made you all soft."

"I'm not soft." Theon scoffed.

"Yes, you are." Yara said and Theon turned to her in outrage in time to see her roll her eyes. "You've stopped sleeping around and I haven't seen you drink once in three days. You've gone soft."

Theon opened his mouth to protest before Yara shoved his shoulder lightly and cast a look at Daenerys, "Relax little brother. It's not such a bad thing."

XxX

Despite what Yara claimed Theon Greyjoy was not soft. He was a very tough, hard man thank you very much. Besides, Yara didn't know what she was talking about. She'd been dating Daenerys for a year and a half and suddenly she was an expert on love? Not likely

Theon pointedly avoided her questions and refused to even think about Sansa in her presence. Yara didn't deserve to meet Sansa, or even learn her name, if the only thing she was going to think about her was that she made Theon _soft._

He was tough and strong and brutal and he had every intention of going onto that ice and proving it. Theon repeated these words like a mantra as he headed into the rink to get ready for the game. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear his name being called until the person calling it was right in front of him.

"Hey." Sansa smiled at him, slightly breathless and her cheeks and the tip of her nose pink from the cold.

"Hi. The game isn't for hours." Theon said in surprise, surely the arena wasn't unlocked already? He'd been hoping for some quiet time on the ice before the game started.

"It's not." Sansa assured him quickly, before shifting on her feet awkwardly. Theon watched her do so with wonder. Since when was he the calm one in their duo? "I just wanted to be sure I caught you before the game."

"You've caught me." Theon said, shaking his head. She'd caught him alright, in more ways than she knew. "What do you plan to do with me?"

Sansa's cheeks flushed with a blush and Theon stared at it with wonder. He hadn't meant for his comment to sound slightly suggestive, really he hadn't, but the fact that it had made her blush made him wonder if she was now thinking of those very things. Theon wondered if this was a new development or if he was usually so lost around Sansa he hadn't noticed it before. With his head so focused on the game this was the first time he had ever felt truly clear headed around her.

"I just wanted to say good luck." Sansa said brightly, the blush fading as she smiled at him.

"Thanks." Theon said smiling back at her. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he wondered how long she had been standing out there in the cold waiting for him.

She nodded quickly, looking down at her feet suddenly shy. "I don't want to keep you."

"I don't mind if you do." Theon blurted causing Sansa to look back up at him so fast he heard her neck pop. He flinched but more at his words than the sound. "I mean..."

His mouth suddenly failed him as his brain began to go haywire. HIs words could have been taken innocently but with his tone and the way Sansa was staring intently at him he didn't think that was how she was taking them. Which was good because that really wasn't how he meant them. He didn't have time for this now, as much as he wanted to suddenly confess his feelings for Sansa he had a huge game riding on his shoulders. He couldn't let his heart take over right now.

Sansa suddenly put a hand on his arm and Theon's eyes drifted close at her touch. "Let's do this after okay?"

Thoen's eyes popped open and he watched her curiously. "Do what?"

Sansa took a deep breath and her eyes searched his for a long moment before she spoke, "Tell each other how much we like each other."

Theon felt his heart jump into his throat as he stared at her in shock. Sansa liked him? For his personality? How the hell was that even possible? A girl like her with a guy like him? Sure, he'd been nursing a crush on her for months but he never truly expected anything to come from it. Before his mind could process enough thoughts to form a coherent sentence Sansa suddenly took another step towards him, resting her hand on his shoulder as she leaned forward and placed a light kiss against his cheek.

He barely had enough time to notice how soft her lips felt before she stepped away to smile at him.

"You're going to win today. I know it." she said with a grin as she walked away from him.

Theon stood and watched her go until she turned around the building out of sight, grinning like a fool the entire time.

XxX

By the time the game began he had managed to lock his thoughts of Sansa (she had kissed him, she liked him!) away to focus on the matter at hand. It didn't stop him from looking for her in the crowd, not surprised to see her sitting with her family on the bleachers directly behind the box. She smiled at him through the glass as he skated towards the box with the rest of the team to listen to Seaworth's usual pep talk. Theon didn't hear a word of it he was too busy staring at Sansa.

The game started off violent and it only increased as time wore on. Theon got slammed into the boards so much during the first period his teeth hurt from clanging together, even with the mouth guard. The teams both fought hard and well and by the time they came back onto the ice for the second period they were still both tied at zero.

Theon grit his teeth as he watched Robb get illegally stick checked and he cheered with his teammates as he took the penalty shot. He groaned just as loud when the goalie blocked it with the tip of their skate.

Seaworth called a line change and Theon shoved his helmet back on, grateful to get back on the ice. He hated watching from the bench, it made him feel so helpless. He was facing off one of the biggest defensive players on the other team but he was way faster than him. It wasn't easy to get around the man but Theon managed and when Jon shot the puck forward towards him he was wide open. He feinted the goalie left and then shot to the upper right-hand corner. He saw it hit the net just before the siren went off.

Theon whooped in joy as he turned back to face his teammates who had sped towards him to high five him happily as they retook their positions. The fans were going wild and Theon's eyes went straight to Sansa who was happily screaming along with everyone else. A few rows up and over from her Yara was clapping loudly and Daenerys was jumping up and down as they cheered. Theon gave them a mock bow as he skated back to center ice.

With their one goal lead the other team got more brutal, using more and more illegal actions to try to get that point back. No one wanted to lose to a shutout with only one point scored total. Somehow, they managed to fight them off, the defensive players running themselves ragged. Sam looked completely out of breath in the goal but he still blocked every shot sent at him. Theon was going to buy him so many books if they won.

The second period passed in a bloody mess and Theon started the third period waiting antsily on the bench, watching the game for any sign of the other players' weaknesses he could use against them. Waters sat beside him turning his helmet over and over in his hands like he wanted to crush it with his bare hands.

"Hey!" a sudden slap on the glass wall behind them made Theon start and he turned to look over his shoulder with Waters. Theon's brows rose in curiosity at Arya, Robb's feral little sister, who was glaring at him intently. "Seventy-three favors his left side."

Theon nodded at her in thanks before turning back to the ice, he was beginning to notice the same thing. He was glad to have someone else confirm it though before he acted on it. That was the defensive player he'd be facing off against whenever Seaworth called a line change, which should be any minute.

Arya wasn't done offering advice from behind them and Theon listened curiously. "Gendry, number fifteen looks ready to pass out. They can't switch him out because they've got too many penalties. Just run him down."

Theon saw Waters nod and offer her a thanks and Theon peeked over his shoulder to make sure Arya had gone back to her seat before he turned to grin at Waters, who was pointedly staring at the ice and ignoring him.

"Gendry huh?" he asked, feeling his face break out into a smirk. "Robb know that you're on a first name basis with his little sister?"

"Stark know you're dating his other sister?" Gendry snapped, his eyes finally leaving the ice to glare coldly at Theon. Theon gulped at the sight. Maybe him and Arya were a better match than he would have thought.

"We're not dating." Theon admitted, although with any luck the conversation he would be having with Sansa soon would change that.

"I don't care." Gendry shrugged, jumping to his feet as Seaworth called for a line change.

XxX

In the end they won two to zero, with Jon scoring the other goal with an assist from Theon. It looked like Sam would be getting those books after all.

The team screamed themselves hoarse as the final buzzer sounded and the roar from the crowd was so loud Theon knew he would be able to hear it for weeks. He found himself crumbled in a hug between Robb, Jon, and Edd and he wasn't sure whose arms were whose as he finally managed to untangle himself, skating straight towards Sam, he didn't slow down before running straight into him. He let out a huff as Theon wrapped his arms around him and cheered himself hoarse but Sam was cheering right back so it was all fine.

The sound of the ice rink door being opened hit Theon and he turned to see Davos holding it open to let fans stream onto the ice which was considerably dangerous and something he had never done before. Of course, they hadn't won a national title in a few years either. Theon skated towards the crowd, accepting claps on his shoulder and calls of 'good game' as he searched the crowd for a familiar face.

He saw Arya dart by him and he had a moment to be impressed that she seemed to move just as well on the ice in boots as she did on skates before she was jumping on Gendry and Theon quickly turned away. He had no need or desire to see any of that.

Seeing Arya meant that Sansa had to be close but he couldn't see her red hair anywhere.

"Good job little brother!" Yara cried, appearing behind him and pulling him towards her into a fierce hug. "It was worth the cold to see that!"

Theon laughed and stepped back from her, accepting the high-five Daenerys gave him. "Liar."

Yara stuck her tongue out at him like the mature adult she pretended to be. "Fine. It was almost worth it."

Theon laughed again before he finally saw a flash of red from the corner of his eye. "Back in a sec." Theon said quickly before skating carefully through the crowd towards the wall where Sansa stood, watching out at the people celebrating on the ice with a smile on her face.

"Thanks for supporting the team." Theon said as he came to a stop in front of her, pointing at her University of Winterfell sweater.

"Of course." Sansa smiled and pushed off the wall to take a tentative step towards him. "Clearly it's the only reason you won."

Theon let out a startled laugh as he skated even closer to her. "Clearly."

She was right there and he could just reach out and touch her but Theon forced his hands to remain by his sides. "So, about what you were saying earlier..."

Sansa smiled sheepishly at him and took a minuscule step forward. Her shoes were brushing his skates now. "About how much I like you?" she asked softly.

The words made Theon's heart jump right back into his throat and he had to remind himself to breath as he nodded. "Yes. That."

"Well I could tell you, or I could show you?" Sansa offered, her voice suddenly husky.

Theon could see her older brother approaching them from the corner of his eye and he knew that her entire family was there as well as his older sister but when Sansa curled her hand around his bicep it all just disappeared. He also knew that he was covered in sweat and all together disgusting but as he placed his hands on Sansa's waist to draw her closer to him he realized he didn't care at all.

He had just helped his team win a national championship but the feeling he got doing that was nothing compared to how he felt when he finally kissed the woman of his dreams. He wound his hand into her bright red hair as she wrapped her other hand around the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to her. In the back of his mind Theon registered the cat calls, the affronted gasp Robb let out, Yara's whoop of joy but they were all things he would not recall until much much later.

In that moment all there was in the world was him and Sansa and the cold ice beneath their feet, keeping them rooted to the earth. If it wasn't for that he would have floated away his heart felt so light.


End file.
